Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
It has sliding dropouts, right? I could tease you and say bulletproof bikes don’t have derailleurs! And weigh a couple pounds less.
All the 11 speed derailleurs will do 10 speeds just fine and handle the 42t no problem. If you are dropping speeds because you think 11 chains are weaker or faster wearing, well, that’s a widely believed theory.
The people who make chains, and the tiny cottage industry of people who test them, disagree. It’s more about the chain quality. But if you persist anyhow there are 8 and 9 speed options too. If you want a Zee RD because you think it’s tough, well it’s not really that special and the 11’s are just fine. They never updated Zee and Saint because free ride kind of lost out to enduro lately, otherwise they’d be 11 speed too
lol yes! Could run it with a Rohloff if I wanted too!
All good points, I am not married to the Zee lineup in particular or 10 speed in general, I have one lying around and I have always been impressed by them considering how little they cost. Chain durability doesn’t factor in at all, I am of the same mindset that you are: differences between the two are academic. SLX would be just fine too, and may be the way to go depending on the wheelset I wind up with and which freehub driver it has.
So, mostly looking for big bang for my buck but this build will be near $3k so spending an extra $50 on a derailleur is not a big deal.